For us, Thanksgiving is for giving thanks for things that we are thankful for. For family, friends, and passions that make us feel alive.

Not for taking another’s life, not for contributing to the pain and suffering of another just for a habitual tradition.

Every year, I like to do a kind Thanksgiving even before we fully gave up eating meat. It just always seemed like the right thing to do, to celebrate thankfulness without causing harm to another.

This is one of my new favorite fall recipes that serves perfectly as a Thanksgiving meal centerpiece. The inside of this is warm and soft, while the outside of the quinoa stuffing crisps up nicely.

You get all sorts of veggie and protein goodness with this one, and the nutritional yeast really adds that extra kick of flavor.

Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash

Ingredients (makes 4 servings)
1 acorn squash washed and sliced horizontally into 1/4th inch thick slices, seeds removed
1 tablespoon avocado oil
1 pinch sea salt
1 pinch freshly ground black pepper

For the Quinoa Stuffing:
2 teaspoons avocado oil
1 shallot, diced
1/2 sweet red bell pepper, diced
1 sweet potato, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes
2/3 cup uncooked quinoa
2/3 cups canned chickpeas, drained
1 cup sliced fresh baby kale
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon dried oregano
sea salt, to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 425˚F
2. In a medium bowl toss the acorn squash slices in the avocado oil so that they are well coated. Place the slices on a baking sheet (I like to like with parchment paper), then sprinkle the squash slices with the sea salt and black pepper. Set aside
3. In a shallow skillet, heat the avocado oil over medium heat. Then add the shallots, red bell pepper, and a pinch of sea salt. Saute until the shallots turn transparent and the bell pepper softens, about 1 minute.
4. Add sweet potato, quinoa and 1 cup of water to the skillet. Mix to combine, add another small pinch of sea salt, then wait for the mixture to start bubbling.
5. Turn the heat down, cover the skillet, and let the mixture simmer for about 10 minutes until all of the water has been absorbed.
6. Uncover the skillet, turn off the heat, add the chickpeas, kale, nutritional yeast, and dried oregono.
7. Carefully spoon about 1/2 cup of quinoa stuffing onto each squash ring slice. Leave a bit of space around the edge of each ring.
8. Place the stuffed acorn squash rings into the oven and let bake for 16-18 minutes, until the squash is tender.
9. Serve immediately and enjoy!